Travel Tuesday: North Dakota Days 3–5

I've started a new feature called Travel Tuesdays. Each week I'll post photos, recommendations, or itineraries from trips I've taken or am planning to take. You can see past posts here. Last week I outlined Days 1 and 2 of our North Dakota adventure. Today I'll round out the trip.

North Unit View

Day 3: Sunday, June 7 
We woke up at camp and hiked back to the trailhead after breakfast. After changing clothes, we completed the scenic ring road around the South unit of Teddy Roosevelt National Park, stopping to take photos of the wildlife. We did a mini hike near the river, went to the visitor's center to get more water and clean up, then started the hour drive to the North unit.

Hiking back from camp

Wild horses!

Traffic jam

Ninja prairie dog

A ranger at the South unit recommended the Caprock Coulee Trail. The trail starts on a leisurely nature trail for all abilities, but about a mile in became more technical. We crossed through several different types of terrain and the last mile of the trail was the hardest. I'm glad we covered the easy section first! The entire hike was just under 5 miles and took a few hours. We did not take enough water, but luckily we made it. We loved this trail. It was probably the highlight of the trip.

Caprock Coulee

We started in the valley and climbed to the top 

Very windy at River Bend Overlook

Half of the North Unit was closed due to a rock slide, so we chose to camp at Lake Sakakawea to shorten our Monday drive. We thought we'd take a scenic route across the state and unfortunately got caught up in a lot of construction traffic. This was the worst two hours of the trip, but we were able to see a frakking town and Indian reservation. Because it was Sunday night we were one of two groups camping on the large lake campground. I prefer hike-in camping to pull-up, but we had a good time regardless. We did a mini hike after setting up camp, then ate dinner. This time I had enough protection against bugs!

Sunset at Lake Sakakawea

Day 4: Monday, June 8
We made breakfast, packed, and headed out at a decent time. Our drive followed the Lewis and Clark trail with a stop at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. The facility was in pristine condition.

Sacajawea, Alex, Lewis, and Clark 

At the Interpretive Center

After checking in to our awesome hotel in Fargo we returned to Wurst Bier Hall for tasty grub and one more NoDak beer flight (they gave us new beers after we told them we'd had one on Friday. So nice.) Afterwards, we went a few doors down to Drekker Brewing Co. for another flight, then wandered around until we headed back to the hotel for a complementary dinner snack and drink (tacos and wine). I was craving crappy food so we went to IHOP for dinner. It was an interesting experience and reminded me why we don't go there very often... 

Back to Wurst Bier Hall. I LOVE that food. I want more. 

I can't believe I'm ending with a photo from IHOP... 

Day 5: Tuesday, June 9
After breakfast at the hotel I ran 3 miles on the treadmill while Alex swam in the decked out pool. We were the only ones taking advantage of the amenities, but maybe because it was Tuesday. Our flight didn't leave 'til early afternoon so we went to Scheel's (new favorite store) and I ended up getting a two bathing suits. It was the perfect end to a lovely trip!

Where was your last trip?
What is your next vacation?